Like a good home-cooked meal, Brendan Walsh’s charming little dramedy I’ll Be Right There serves you exactly what you expect. And there’s nothing wrong with that if familiarity is what you seek. All the ingredients are here: solid acting, a few laugh-out-loud moments counterbalanced by several poignant ones, and an inspirational ending. If, however, you’re looking for something new and spicy, you’d be well advised to try another dish.
Wanda (Eddie Falco) has her hands full. There’s her mother, Grace (Jeannie Berlin), elated that she doesn’t have lung cancer (although she does have leukemia, which apparently isn’t nearly as dire). There is Sarah (Kayli Carter), Wanda’s very pregnant and very emotional daughter, and Mark (Charlie Tahan), Wanda’s son, a former drug addict and part-time convict who enlists in the army and breaks Wanda’s heart.
And then there’s nerd-turned-firefighter-hunk Albert (Michael Beach), Wanda’s high-school friend with whom she reunites; Sophie (Sepideh Moafi), Wanda’s elusive lover; Henry (Bradley Whitford), her loser ex; and faithful boyfriend Marshall (Michael Rapaport), who seems on the brink of an existential crisis. Our protagonist juggles all these things – and many more to come – with a sense of humor, but she also stumbles, breaking people’s hearts and continuously prioritizing family over everything else, including herself. She’s everyone’s safety net, and she loves it, but how many falls can the net take?
“…she also stumbles, breaking people’s hearts and continuously prioritizing family over everything else, including herself.”
Eddie Falco handles the lead with expected grace. Walsh, who worked with her on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie, seems to know the actor’s every nuance; their symbiosis is apparent. Kayli Carter showcases impeccable comedic timing, nailing each line and reaction; she makes her scenes come alive. As the gambling-prone, bitingly sarcastic Grace, Jeannie Berlin also steals the show. The rest of the cast keeps up, which really mustn’t have been that difficult, considering Jim Beggarly’s witty, albeit somewhat played-out, script.
Sharp lines save the hackneyed parts. “I need something to comfort me after what I just heard,” Grace says casually, lighting up a cigarette after her leukemia diagnosis. “Wanna call Eugene and tell him that the wedding is back on?” Wanda asks her daughter. “Oh, I’ve already canceled it like a dozen times, I’m sure he’s used to it by now,” Sarah replies. “Look at you getting all offended while we’re bailing you out of jail,” Sarah snaps at Mark. Wanda getting busted by her daughter in bed with Sophie marks one of the film’s highlights.
There’s nothing spectacular about any of this, but it’s heartfelt and well done. The film examines how difficult mundane life can be, but also how beautiful, and how it’s enough to dedicate everything to other people. A small-scale, small-town story with a big heart, I’ll Be Right There is here for us, its low-key wisdom an antidote to all the cinematic bombast and pandering out there.
"…an antidote to all the cinematic bombast and pandering out there"
